Rust and Stardust
by AmaranthineParadox
Summary: Power. It is what defines the ages, what humans crave above all else, what brought the elves to their knees. It is what loves gives. And often what takes love away. Ashara is an elf with many secrets, and she is as loathe to part with them as the Wolf she is slowly coming to care for. What would happen... if perhaps their secrets were the same?
1. The Vessel

The magic that burned in my blood when I awoke was beautifully, horrifically familiar.

 _Impossible. What are the chances that it could survive the ages when even_ they _did not?_

But the evidence was undeniable, the signature impossible to mistake. The raw, brutal power of an unleashed foci surged erratically the new Vessel of my body, filling the entirety my lithe frame with an almost painful burn, my own blood pulsing in time with the foreign heartbeat of the forgotten gods. The world seemed torn around the edges, shards of glass in open wounds that glinted dangerously with the untamed light of veilfire, but I had survived such power before, and I would likely do so again.

 _I was made to be broken and then pieced together again._

A sudden flaring my veins and a blinding burst of pain reminded me that I had other things to worry about.

 _I need to be cautious… it is unstable enough that I might create a tear on accident._

I took a deep breath, not struggling against the power, but riding along the waves. I was not synchronized with it, and whatever had happened, whatever incredible circumstances had resulted in a weapon I had thought long lost literally _falling into my hands_ ; I would never forgive myself if I lost control and died now. My own silver mana surged eagerly to meet to meet the new green ocean within me, and I let myself become lost within it. Dominance would come later – for now, I just wanted stability. It pulsed along with my heartbeat, lighting my skin from within.

Unpredictable spikes in the tide lit the room around me in scorching flashes of emerald green, the twisted light reflecting oddly from the many swords leveled at my chained frame. This distortion of shadow and light did little to hide the fact that the coarsely crafted blades were grasped in fearful; shaking fingers and I barely resisted the urge to giggle like a wolf gone mad, driven to the brink with the power of an entire world's destruction.

 _Foolish, frightened, little shemlen. You think you can hurt me now, wielding your shards of crudely hewn earth, when the taste of a power I had all but forgotten lingers heavy on my tongue? You would regret the strike me if you so dared… the transference is barely stable, and a Vessel is not something to strike lightly._

 _It is almost more that_ I _can hold, and this would be barely a_ glimpse _of the power it would likely store after all these years. I am lucky that I survived contact… there would be nothing of you left to mourn for most._

… _But even if I am just a drop in the ocean, shouldn't I still be able to hear the waves? Where is it? Where is the Foci? Where is the answer for which I have been searching for all this time?_

I searched my memory frantically, cursing the blanks. The last thing I remembered was coming to the Conclave to meet a contact in regards to a missing lyrium shipment, and I had then planned to observe the talks from afar. I had met the rude ex-Templar smuggler, made my expectations clear, and had been looking for something to eat when I heard a feminine voice cry out –

But then what?

 _Darkness. Lesser fear demons on my tail, trying to imitate either the appearance of the countless that I have lost or the visage of the many that have hurt me. Running, reaching for a glowing hand, falling in reverse through the cracks in the sky…_

 _Wait. Cracks in the skies? Falling up?_

… _Mythal have mercy._

 _I was in the Fade. Physically_ in the Fade. _To tear the Veil in such a way…_

A sudden fear gripped me. The Foci had already been unleashed, fully unlocked. It was the only explanation. All of that power that had been building over the millennia, wasted…

 _Fenhedis! This is unacceptable._

My memory had been twisted, I was in chains that were blocking off any access to magic, I had at least three broken ribs and what felt like a shattered wrist, and, most importantly, the now unlocked Foci that I must have somehow touched was _fucking missing._

 _This is absolutely_ unacceptable.

I quickly attempted to phase through my chains, but I had not anticipated that there would be reality-anchoring runes as well, causing the lyrium to burn in my veins. I jolted back into my physical form painfully, lips curling angrily around my teeth, feeling the twinge of broken bones I hadn't noticed through the surging of power before.

 _How in the world did they think to add those as well? I am going to have to call upon Nydharani and Adhlean, it seems. How embarrassing… I will try one more time._

I tried to phase again, focusing more intently this time, but was again forced to once again take a form of flesh and bone. Every drop of my blood then flared against my will with the new emerald light instead of my own silver, making me snarl ferally in agony, and guards around me flinched. The runes in shackles light and crackled beneath the pressure of such ancient power, the Tranquil-forged bonds beginning to fray.

… _that's useful._

The very fabric of the Veil writhed around my body, spirits pushing from the other side as they were drawn towards the energy like a moth to a flame, a faint memory like a beacon of what once was, of the way things were _before._ I could feel it even through the dampening effects of the antimagic runes around my wrists, blocking out everything else and making the world around me seem washed of color. But the _pressure_ … even so dampened, it was immense. What was going on? If I had not been so bound, I would have asked the spirits who yearned to reach out and touch my soul, but in my current state I could not. I could only strain to hear them whisper.

 _They sing the old songs… and they sing them for me. But… two voices are absent. Where are you, my friends?_

 _I will have to worry about them later. A few more bursts like that and –_

Suddenly, the heavy wooden door in front of me swung again with the force of a tempest given human form, her tanned face contorted in a vicious scowl. A petite redhead, whose darkly glittering eyes and graceful gait made me think she was far more dangerous than she might appear, followed closely behind.

"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now." The warrior snapped, her hand resting threateningly on the hilt of her sword. "The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except… for _you_."

She began circling me in a blatant attempt at intimidation, reminding me rather unpleasantly of a past experience with some particularly determined Ben-Hassarath. But I remained silent and kept my eyes carefully on the redhead, instincts telling me that she was the true threat. She lingered in the shadows like the deadly jungle cats native to the northern most reaches of Tevinter and Par Vollen, eyes sharp as hidden blades. _She_ would be the one who would bury a dagger in my back, if it should come to that.

Not that such a thing would kill me, at least not immediately. I had suffered too much to be felled by such a wound. But it would be a massive inconvenience, especially since she _really_ struck me as the type to use some sort of rare, deadly poison.

I forced myself to ignore her words. I was not in a position for sentiment – I was alive _now,_ and they were not. The mourning would come later.

I shifted my gaze, flicking them temporarily away from the hooded one to meet the gaze of the warrior, who was leaning down imposingly, obviously trying to make eye contact. I narrowed my own silver orbs as I met hers, a bright and fiery gold. I said nothing, holding her gaze.

She was the first to look away. She grabbed my wrist roughly, and I recoiled instinctively away as she shoved my own limb in my face, my veins still flickering erratically with that ethereal green light. Her firm grasp caused the shattered bones to grind together in agony, and I grit my teeth together in an attempt not to scream.

 _Whatever had happened, it had taken serious toll on my body._

"Explain _this."_

… _how much do I tell them?_ I wondered, keeping my eyes on my captors and trying to ignore the burning in my blood. It was like the inverse of lyrium or energy withdrawal, too much instead of too little, but still a painful sensation.

He _had always been careful to give too little, but just enough. The burning was constant, a merciless reminder of to whom I belonged._

"I don't know." I replied after a moment of tense silence, careful to keep my expression neutral. "It appears, to the best of my knowledge, to be some manner of residue from a magical reaction. Not unlike a scar is the reaction to a wound." I looked down at the marking with a small frown.

"The erratic nature of the energy tells me that the contact was either not deliberate or poorly planned. It is, in fact, wreaking a fair deal of chaos on my body. If I do not figure out how to stabilize it soon, it will likely kill me. Unfortunately, I appear to be experiencing gaps in my memory."

I looked up at them, eyes narrowed.

"I don't suppose you could fill in the blanks?"

Rage flashed in the warrior's eyes. She surged toward once more, as unstoppable as the tide. She grasped my arms once more, and my eyes clenched shut from the pain. The power lying temperately dormant in my veins surged furiously at the contact, and if she had not been wearing gauntlets, it was likely her fingers would have come away burned.

"You're lying! You know _exactly_ what happened, as you are going to - "

In the middle of her statement, the pressure suddenly ceased. I opened my eyes to find the redhead urging her back, eyes imploring and touch gentle.

"We need her, Cassandra."

 _Good guard, bad guard? Do they truly think me that naïve?_

In the moment of respite, I tried once more to remember, thinking back. The last thing that I could recall was walking down a hallway, cold and tired.

I had thought that I was alone…

" _Help!" A faint cry echoed in the distance. "Help me!"_

 _A door opening, reaching towards a undying star that_ burned _with green fire, emerald seared to white, unbearable pain –_

 _Demons at my heels. A golden hand, reaching towards me. Dainty, feminine, at odds with the scorched green skies._

" _Ma serannas, shemlen. I will not waste your noble sacrifice."_

Lost in the fragmented pieces of my mind, I did not realize at first that I had allowed the silence to drag on. But the redhead pulled me back to the present, voice insistent.

"Do you remember what happened? How this began?" She asked. She put on a brave front, but there was pain beneath her eyes.

"The last thing I can recall is walking alone in the depths of the Temple. I wanted some quiet, refuge from the arguments… then, someone called for help." I paused, brow furrowed. "After that, things get… burry. The next memory is a frantic flight from a horde of lesser fear demons." I said softly, trying not to recall the faces they had stolen from the darkest, most painful parts of my mind.

"I was injured, I don't think I had my staff… at then, a woman reached out for me. They were trying to save me. And I fell… upwards, into the burning emerald skies." A shaky breathe the escaped me. "I was _physically_ in the Fade. The amount of power it would take to tear the Veil in such a way, to send not one but _two_ people through on _accident_ … the fallout of this is likely what destroyed the Conclave."

Turning my head to regard them carefully, the next couple of words were measured. "Such power is not known to mankind, at least not to my knowledge. It is a feat that has not been performed since the darkest eve of recorded history. This would have taken preparation, planning. What do _you_ know?"

Their gazes were hard. It didn't appear that they were all that willing to be helpful. Oh well, I would just have to –

"It will be easier to show you." Cassandra said, a hint of weariness creeping into her tone. She knelt and began to undo my bindings, speaking to the other woman as she did. The very moment that she did, I was overcome with raw power. I collapsed to the ground, face contorted in a silent scream.

It was so much, after so long without….

How? How could this be? I have felt the Veil weakened, I have even seen it torn, but this… this was impossible. This was more than a tear – that would be like comparing a scratch to a slit throat. This… this was unnatural.

 _Well, isn't that ironic. The Veil, being_ unnatural… _._

Sudden, two worried voices appeared in my mind.

 _Ashara! We couldn't find you, we thought –_

 _You were completely blocked off-_

 _The Veil! Ashara, the Veil is torn, you have to –_

" _Stop!"_ I snapped mentally, still laying on the floor, straining to bring breathe into my lungs. " _Too much. Believe me, I can feel that the Veil is torn. In fact, I am starting to think I had something to do with it."_

They went silent, becoming aware of foreign power surging through my mana.

 _Is that –_

 _It can't be!_

" _I think it is. I don't know how – something is interfering with my memories. If the Veil is breached in such a way, it isn't safe for you to be here. See if you can find any echoes farther out, try to retrace my steps – and if it leads you closer to the tear, turn back! Don't risk yourself, we can figure this out later."_

Like being tossed into an overwhelming current, I was slowing relearned to drift along. The power was just so _raw…_

 _And to think that modern mages can barely feel this at all… madness. This is madness._ Nydharani said softly. Then, their presences faded from my mind, and I struggled to stand, ignoring the shocked and… perhaps slightly worried face of the human next to me.

"None of the other mages reacted in such a way." She said darkly. "It must be the Mark."

I didn't deign to correct her.


	2. A Brave New World

When I walked from the darkness and peered for the first time at the Breach, it was just as impressive as I imagined. Terrifying, of course. But awe-inspiring in equal measure.

"We call it the Breach." Cassandra said, something uncomfortably like disgust in her tone. "And you appear to already have a rather… impressive knowledge basis of the Fade, you I won't deign to tell you what it has done to us. But there is someone you should know."

She looked at me seriously, her gaze intense. "It grows larger with each passing hour. And it is not the only such Rift. Just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave."

I resisted the urge to sigh. The explosion wouldn't have caused this – the Breach would have caused the explosion.

 _Backwards, like everything else._

Cassandra continued when she realized that her ward was going to remain silent. "Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world."

Swallows the world… how melodramatic. Little shemlen, you have not even an inkling of the wonders this could accomplish if we can only harness it. From this tear, I could bring down the Veil forever… I could fix everything. But it will have to be handled delicately… and I would have to get my hands on the Foci.

And you probably wouldn't like being a mage much, would you? Bigoted fool.

Suddenly, the Breach flared with unimaginable power. It drove me to my knees, both bliss and agony running through my blood in equal measure. Every one of my veins flared with ethereal emerald light, and I could feel it burning. It was consuming me.

I struggled to bring it under control, using my own mana to smooth the process. But at the rate that this was going, I would be used up.

I could barely hear her through the overwhelming sensations, but Cassandra was speaking once more.

"Each time the Breach expands, the power in your blood grows stronger… and it is killing you. It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time."

I groaned softly. "Yes… we have to stabilize it, at the very least. But I will not be able to close it. One person is not enough… "

I need to be careful how much I say. She is already suspicious enough. I could probably close it, once it is stabilized. When she says I am the 'key', she had no idea how true her words are.

But why would I close it? This is a blessing. Once it is stabilized… the possibilities are endless.

Although it would burn up all but the very last drops of the lyrium in my blood. The pain would be… unimaginable.

Sure enough, her gaze turned wary. "How can you be sure?"

I sighed, my mind racing to come up with an explanation she would accept. "Think of the Veil as being like a dam for a river. If a hole – in the dam is broken, the pressure of the river behind it causes water to gush forth with great force. One person's arm is not enough to plug the hole. Or the Breach, in this case. I would need mages… lots of them."

 _Which you can't get, because the majority of the organized mages died at the Conclave. It will buy me time, at least. Hopefully no one will figure out that Templars could likely serve a similar purpose._

"That is not acceptable." Cassandra said firmly. I had to resist the urge to laugh.

Not acceptable? What do you want me to do, change the rules? If I was anything other than what I was, I would barely be able to effect the Breach at all.

"It is our only chance, however. And yours." She continued.

"I hardly have a choice here, now do I?" I said with a bitter smirk.

At least it would get me closer to the Breach.

Cassandra's eyes darkened. She obviously didn't appreciate such a response.

"None of us have a choice."

She yanked me to my feet roughly, and I smirked when I realized I stood almost half an inch above her. My height had always made humans uncomfortable – elves were supposed to be small and docile.

 _Like rabbits._ I thought, rage bubbling deep in my chest.

As we walked through the ramshackle camp, dozens of shemlen glared at me with hatred in their eyes. My captor felt the need to explain, apparently thinking me a simpleton, as I discretely wove healing magic through my broken bones.

"They have decided your guilt. They need it."

Idly, I wondered if I could escape now, if I needed too. The bindings on my wrists were just leather now – I could probably burn through them.

But… someone about the woman next to me gaze me pause. She was spirit-touched… Faith, or perhaps Hope, from the feel of her aura. Those that the spirits blessed often had strange and fantastical abilities. I did not desire to test her until I knew more. Lost in my pondering, I started slightly when I realized she was still talking.

"The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy. Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The Conclave was hers."

I am feeling the absence of Nydharani and Adhlean. They usually keep me focused… that is reason enough to stabilize this Breach, if the erratic nature of the energy within me was not. I rely on them quite a bit, it seems.

She was still rambling on, it seemed.

"It was a chance for peace between mages and Templars. She brought their leaders together. Now, they are dead."

 _…right. Like that would have happened. Once a wolf has gotten out, you aren't going to trick it back into it's old cage._

"We lash out, like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves. As she did. Until the Breach is sealed." There was a deep reverence in her tone.

Mythal have mercy, you are going to be one of those humans, aren't you? 'Praise the Maker!" and "Andraste, guide my blade!" I could tell you a few things about would-be gods, but I doubt you would listen.

As we came through wooden door, she turned and pulled out a knife. I gazed at her wary, ready to run. But to my surprise, she cut through my bindings instead, continuing to ramble as she did.

"There will be a trial. I can promise no more"

It was a challenge not to roll my eyes.

 _Right. Like you would give a fair trial to a knife-ear that you think killed your bloody Divine. Spare me, please._

"Come, it's not far."

I looked at her eyes, my own narrowed.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Your mark must be tested on something smaller than the Breach." She set off, obviously expecting me to follow. Humans around us were wailing and repeating the Chant of light as they loomed their dead. It was an unnerving scene.

As we approached the second set of gates, she yelled to those guarding it.

"Open the gate! We are heading into the valley."

We ran quickly through the snow as fragments of energy rained from the sky. It was chaos… at yet I felt better than I had in a long time. I felt alive.

A group of shemlen warriors ran past us the other way, fear apparent in their expression and body. One of the yelled as they ran, terrified tears running down their face.

"Maker, it's the end of the world!"

 _Fool. This isn't this end. This is the beginning._


End file.
